Ramadoss warns open-ended caste census will cause confusion

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss has urged all MPs to press the government to use pre-loaded official caste lists in the upcoming census instead of open text fields. In a letter to lawmakers, the former Union minister warned that allowing citizens to self-report caste names would generate millions of sub-caste entries, making the data unusable for social justice policies. He cited the Bihar 2023 and Telangana 2024 surveys as successful examples of the drop-down method.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged the Census 2027 questionnaire is deliberately flawed, noting that micro questions on religion, date of birth, and parents' birthplace have never been asked before. He accused the government of a nefarious purpose, pointing out that the Centre in a 2021 Supreme Court affidavit had itself recommended a drop-down menu, which the current census omits. Telangana Today reported that the open-ended format risks repeating the 2011 SECC failure, which produced 46.7 lakh distinct caste names.

Retired Justice V. Eswaraiah told Rediff that merely adding a caste question does not constitute a caste census, as the exercise lacks verification mechanisms and fails to cross-reference central and state OBC lists. He argued the government has done a U-turn on its promise. The population enumeration phase of Census 2027 is set to begin in February.